NH-0743 Rank 90
Tsuba · Hayashi Tōhachi
林藤八 (Hayashi Tōhachi)
Round pierced iron tsuba with fishing nets hung to dry and cherry blossoms, unsigned and attributed by the NBTHK to Hayashi Tōhachi of the Hayashi school of Higo.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Round iron tsuba, unsigned, attributed by its NBTHK paper to Hayashi Tōhachi, a member of the Hayashi line, one of the great Higo schools, renowned for restrained and precise pierced ironwork. The motif is hoshiami sakura: fishing nets hung out to dry, filling the plate with a regular mesh, and three cherry blossoms on each face, divided by a vertical bar. It is worked in positive openwork (jisukashi) and finished with a rounded rim (marumimi). The photographs show a fine, even mesh, well-defined five-petalled blossoms and a clean rim in profile. The patina is dark and stable; a few reddish-brown areas appear on the central plate, with no broken bars or visible cracks. It comes in a paulownia wood box. The paper, issued in 2023, recognises it as 特別保存刀装具 (tokubetsu hozon tōsōgu). The original seller gives dimensions of 7.48 × 7.30 cm, a rim thickness of 0.57 cm and a weight of 95 g.
Strong points
- NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2023)
- Attributed to Hayashi Tōhachi of the Hayashi school of Higo
- Fine, regular openwork of fishing nets and cherry blossoms
- Iron with a dark, stable patina and no visible breaks
- In a paulownia wood box
Points to bear in mind
- Unsigned: the authorship is an attribution by the paper
- A few reddish-brown areas of surface rust on the central plate
- Small photographs; the texture of the iron cannot be judged in detail
Score breakdown
61.4/100
The score shares out 100 points: Maker 25 · Workmanship 20 · Condition 18 · Period 12 · Paper 10 · Extras 5 · Price 10. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. Maker, workmanship, condition and period are judged from the photographs and the paper; price is compared only with fittings of the same type.
- Maker 15 of 25 Unsigned, attributed by the paper to a master
- Workmanship 15 of 20 Notable work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 8.4 of 10 Rank 37 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest